How Shannon Rouillard Is Transforming Riviera Into A Tougher U.s. Women's Open Test

She won’t beryllium playing successful nan U.S. Women’s Open this week, but Shannon Rouillard has thought her measurement astir Riviera Country Club excessively galore times to count.

As nan USGA’s title head for nan tournament, Rouillard decides wherever nan tees and pins should go, really wide nan fairways play, and each nan different people setup wrong nan ropes.

“Our extremity is to place a nationalist champion,” she said. “But besides to trial shot-making, people management, intelligence and beingness resolve. It should beryllium nan toughest trial [the competitors] spot each twelvemonth long. They person travel to expect that from us.”

This is nan first clip Riviera has played big to this awesome championship, and it’s a homecoming for Rouillard, who lives and useful successful New Jersey but grew up successful Covina and has spent years preparing for this week. That meant attending nan Genesis Invitational astatine Riviera for aggregate years, studying nan 2017 U.S. Amateur held there, and poring complete spread locations, yardage books and aged people markings.

She embraces nan complexities of nan course, nan attraction to detail, and nan creation activity of legendary designer George Thomas, who drew up 15 different routings for nan parcel of onshore earlier deciding connected nan existent one.

Rouillard oversaw 2 important changes to nan accepted Riviera layout. On No. 4, which Ben Hogan erstwhile called “the top par-three spread successful America,” nan main tee played excessively agelong for nan women, and nan alternate tee was misaligned and distorted nan geometry of nan hole. Rouillard asked nan nine astir building a caller tee, and Riviera took it a measurement further by performing an “interpretive restoration.”

USGA’s Shannon Rouillard speaks during a news convention successful May 2024.

(Matt Rourke / Associated Press)

That entailed adding caller tees — nan spread will play 192 yards — enlarging nan greenish backmost to its original size, recapturing spread locations that had been mislaid complete nan decades, and recontouring nan area conscionable complete nan beforehand bunker but short of nan greenish to supply a “kick slope” canted toward nan green. That was much religious to nan original creation of Thomas.

No. 8 astatine Riviera is called nan “Lido” spread successful reference to nan split-fairway creation inspired by nan celebrated Lido people connected Long Island, N.Y. From nan tee, you person a prime to deed down nan wide and welcoming near fairway aliases nan narrower correct one, which is simply a much nonstop way to nan green. Between them sits a barren ravine, aliases barranca.

The USGA widened nan correct fairway, which had narrowed to astir 22 yards. PGA Tour information from nan Genesis showed virtually each nan men played down nan near fairway. Rouillard wanted to create much of a determination connected nan tee.

“Our extremity is to bring this spread to life,” she said, “the architecture to life done this setup plan. We want players to deliberation astir going down this correct side.”

Rouillard has loved play since her begetter handed her a nine erstwhile she was 15. The 1990 postgraduate of South Hills High was passionate astir learning nan game, walked connected to nan play squad astatine nan University of Oregon and yet earned a scholarship. She played a twelvemonth of master play connected what is now nan Epson Tour, and later coached nan women’s squad astatine Oregon for astir a decade earlier joining nan USGA successful 2010.

The allure of this assignment, successful her location city, is undeniable.

“The women merit to play these iconic venues for illustration nan men person played for many, galore years,” Rouillard said. “The women are capable to showcase and item nan architecture that these awesome architects were trying to achieve. We are capable to bring them to life because nan features are successful play for nan champion female players.”